World leaders yesterday were joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Switzerland for a summit on peace in his country, but with Russia staying away it is seen as the first step in a long process.
The Swiss hosts have sought to temper expectations at the two-day gathering, with an agenda laying the groundwork for a path to peace — with future summits envisioned, eventually involving Moscow.
However, Zelenskiy has expressed high hopes for the outcome.
Photo: AFP
“We will see history being made here at the summit,” he said on social media platform Telegram, as he greeted presidents and prime ministers arriving at the luxury Burgenstock resort high above Lake Lucerne.
“Together, we are making the first step toward just peace based on the UN Charter and fundamental principles of international law,” he wrote on X.
In a combative speech on Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed the conference and demanded that Kyiv effectively surrender before any actual peace negotiations.
Zelenskiy branded Putin’s demands a territorial “ultimatum” reminiscent of Nazi Germany’s Adolf Hitler, while NATO and the US also rejected the conditions.
The conference, convening 100 countries and global institutions, comes at a perilous moment for exhausted Ukrainians and outgunned soldiers, more than two years since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
More than 50 heads of state and government are among the attendees, including all of the G7 leaders who have been meeting in Italy — with one notable exception.
US President Joe Biden instead sent US Vice President Kamala Harris, who announced more than US$1.5 billion in new aid for Ukraine, mainly for its energy sector and in humanitarian assistance as she arrived in a US Army helicopter.
Near Ukraine’s embattled eastern front, hopes for any major breakthrough are nearly nil.
“I’d like to hope that it will bring some changes in the future, but, as experience shows, nothing comes of it,” said Maksym, a tank commander in the Donetsk region.
In Kyiv, Victoria, a 36-year-old energy industry worker, said she was “exhausted” by the war and wanted to believe the summit would help end it.
“I’m a realist in life, so I don’t have high hopes,” she said.
Experts have also warned against unrealistic expectations from the gathering.
“Meaningful negotiations that could truly end the devastating war in Ukraine remain out of reach, as both Kyiv and Moscow stick to theories of victory that amount to outlasting the other,” the International Crisis Group think tank said.
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